Make It Brilliant, Will You?
by LoveTheForeverGone
Summary: A short story about how Julia Thompson (pure-blood) and Levi Hopper (muggle-born) secretly yearn for each other's touch. (TRYING NOT TO BE A FANFICTION! I'm trying to make this story my own with just a hint/echo of H.P.) ONE-SHOT Rated T for mild sexual situations.


**A/N:** OKAY PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! *hides* I've been a terrible author. I haven't updated any of my crap in I don't know how long, and here I am, uploading some piece that isn't even** SLASH** for God's sake. Throw rocks at me at your will...

Anyways, believe it or not, I actually write other things besides slash, and I took a Creative Writing class this semester and it was so much fun that I've decided to post my class submissions on here to get thoughts and such. **So, expect more uploads of non-slashy things, and if slash is all you read, I'm not forcing you to read this stuff. I would like it if you actually read my stuff, but if not, that's cool too.**

**A/N ACTUALLY ABOUT THE STORY:** So. This has a HUGE echo of Harry Potter (all rights to J.K.R) but I'm really trying to make this story its own. I'M REALLY TRYING TO NOT MAKE THIS A FANFICTION! I want it to have a crutch, (H.P) but be able to stand on its own one day. I have a pretty good idea of where it's going, so I might be adding to this, not sure yet...

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_9/19/12_

**Make It Brilliant, Will You?**

It was raining. A slow and steady drizzle of water was flowing down his head and shoulders, running down his cheek like a lover's caress. Levi was standing on the paved cobblestone road leading to the gates of the castle, his eyes straining in the dark for any sign of movement. The rain made his lenses blur and it was hard to see, but he could just make out a dark shape making its way up the long, winding road from the village. As the figure came closer, Levi could see the small, feminine shape of a young woman, completely wrapped in a large, black cloak, her head bowed to escape the worst of the rain. She was walking briskly in a no-nonsense way that left no room for excess movement. There was no dangling of arms or sway of hips, just long, curt strides designed to get her to her goal as quickly as possible.

Levi took a step forward and the girl faltered in her steps, slowly lifting her head. A gust of wind threw her hood back and the telltale auburn red locks danced freely around her pale face, catching raindrops like a thirsty child. She watched Levi without a word, her face guarded and worn, her body tense, on the verge of bolting. Levi took another step forward and his companion visibly flinched.

"Julia," Levi said slowly, the silence of the woods around them lending a loud and harsh quality to what should have sounded so soft and gentle. The red-haired girl looked away at the sound, her mask hardening even as Levi watched. The tall trees threw long shadows over her face; sharpening the curve of her jaw and the proud set of her chin, making her cheekbones look acute, their edges like the blade of a knife.

"I was waiting for you," Levi offered, watching the damsel closely, needing to know if the words were even registering, to see if they made it past the cold, hard mask. There was only silence. Levi was beginning to wonder if he needed to repeat himself when a terse "why?" made its way through her pinched lips.

"I missed you at dinner," Levi answered quietly, both understanding the implications. Julia closed her eyes and Levi's heart clenched. He wanted so desperately for the girl to deny it, to tell him that he was being foolish, that of course she'd been at dinner. He knew that wasn't possible. If that had been the case, they wouldn't be standing there in the dark; Julia with her mask and Levi with his favorite sweater drenched by the rain.

"Yes." Julia answered the question no one had asked and Levi's heart broke.

He closed his eyes and felt his hands clench to fists on their own accord. "So this is it then?" His voice sounded hollow, strange even to his own ears.

"Levi," She hesitated. "Yes."

Levi opened his eyes and he couldn't help the way they instantly flickered to Julia's left arm. The witch saw his gaze and she tugged on her sleeve, drawing the black cloth further down as if that would somehow shield her from scrutiny. She must have seen the silent question on Levi's face because she scowled deeply and forced out a harsh "no!", shifting her arm further back, away from the prying eyes of her one time nemesis.

"Why?" Levi sighed, his shoulders slumping. He felt the need to wrap his arms around her middle, but he didn't want to look too vulnerable.

"I took the mark of the Darkness, all right? I don't want you to see it!" Julia retorted angrily, glaring at him.

Levi shook his head. "No," he said softly. "_Why_?"

Julia's face clenched for a moment before her mask slipped back into place. She looked emptily into the air, not meeting Levi's eyes. "You know I had no choice," she said harshly, the tone of her voice the only thing betraying her dissatisfaction with the situation and conversation at large.

"There is always a choice." Levi looked her sharply in the eye, his eyes flashing behind his water-stained glasses.

"Not when there are lives involved." Julia shook her head, a small droplet of water losing its hold on her forehead and sliding down her slightly freckled nose. "I thought _you_ of all people would understand!"

Levi frowned, trying to curb his anger. "I _do_ understand!" he gritted out, glaring at Julia. "What I don't understand is how you can talk like that when you've chosen the path you have! Hundreds will die at the feet of your Lord, a hundred more at the point of your wand!"

Julia's expression hardened. "You _don't_ understand. They simply aren't worth as much!"

"As pure-bloods?"

"As my family."

Levi felt his anger desert him like the air out of a balloon, leaving only a pathetic, shriveled shell behind. "So the next time I see you, you'll be plotting my abduction and ultimate demise? Just because of my blood-relations?" He asked tiredly, his voice filled with a bitterness he was unable and unwilling to hide. "Yes," Julia answered. Levi could see the painful realization of truth on her face, just as it must have been obvious on his own.

"Okay," he nodded, the absurdness of the situation making him compliant. "Make it brilliant, will you?"

"Of course." Julia tossed her head as if the notion of a Thompson doing anything that wasn't brilliant was ridiculous. Levi supposed it was.

"Why not now, though?" Levi cocked his head to the side. "We're all alone," he said, motioning to the dark forest around them. "It would be the perfect opportunity."

Levi felt his frozen insides warm a little when Julia didn't even seem to consider it. "No," she said, shaking her head. "Not tonight." She looked up for a second, the drops of rain making small splashes as they met their demise against her face, only to slide down her neck and gather in the fabric of her cloak. "Tonight is not about war."

"What is tonight about?" Levi asked quietly, reluctant to break the mood of calmness that had suddenly made itself apparent in Julia's demeanor.

"Tonight," Julia started, looking thoughtful. "Tonight is about the last vestige of innocence." Her voice was soft and Levi had to strain to hear her. "Tonight is about what might have been, about what should have been, about the shredded remains of childhood. Tonight is about the naïve belief that everything will turn out fine in the end. Tonight is about all the little things that cannot survive in the harsh reality of tomorrow."

Levi nodded slowly. "Well," he said, taking a small step forward; then another, and another, until he was nose to nose with the redhead, feeling the warmth radiate from her through the cold of the night. "About what might have been then," he murmured gently, his hand reaching up to trace the path of raindrops down Julia's cheek.

Julia closed her eyes and her own hand came up to rest on top of Levi's. She slowly entwined their fingers and Levi could feel a pair of cold lips gently pressing against his knuckles. He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, and in a silent agreement the two of them slowly started making their way up the slippery cobblestone road, shivering in the cold even as their hands sought the warmth of one another. They quietly made their way inside the untroubled castle and Levi felt himself being led down into the dungeons, the familiar corridors now foreign and strange in the flickering torchlight.

The girls' dormitories were located close to the east hallway of the dungeons, and Levi didn't think twice about following Julia inside. The details of the small room eluded him, his focus completely on the girl who was now standing before him, her wet hair hanging like pieces of yarn down her face and her eyes open and grey. Levi's glasses were slowly removed and then a warm mouth descended on his, offering the kiss of life to his frozen insides. He shivered as a rush of heat assaulted his senses and he buried his hands in Julia's cloak to prevent himself from slumping to the floor like a doll without strings.

"Julia," Levi breathed and moved his hands down the length of her cloak, opening the buttons as he went along. Reaching the end of the journey, he brought his hands back up the girl's body, gently resting them against her hips, cataloguing the feeling of crisp cloth beneath his fingers and the slow rise and fall of another person's breathing. He slowly moved his hands further up, the cloak following his movements until he was able to watch it fall to the floor with a light push off the girl's shoulders.

"Hush," Julia whispered, cutting off any more words by another gentle touch of her lips. Levi nodded slowly, letting her know that he understood the need for silence. Tonight wasn't about Levi or Julia, tonight was about two teenagers seeking comfort in each other as their worlds fell apart around them. Tonight was about finding love where you could, when those who should have loved you more than anything were nowhere to be found. To seek protection in the arms of another, when those who should have given their lives to protect you had already done so or abandoned you to crash and burn. Tonight wasn't about words, tonight was about feeling, about realizing that there was still warmth in a world of rain, and still love, in a world of war.

Tonight they would live, because tomorrow, they might not.

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So... what did you think? Like I said, I might be adding to this, not really sure yet. Oh and in my other version, I had them calling each other more by their last names (HP/DM habit) so I changed it to first names (Levi & Julia) because I thought it was too Harry/Draco esc. Thoughts?


End file.
